The present invention relates to wireless gateway devices that operate with a multiple service set in order to provide multiple services to remote wireless client devices, such as in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that operates in accordance with the WiFi™ communication standard.
In a WiFi WLAN, a basic service set (BSS) is the basic building block of service management. A WLAN access point (AP) acts as a master to control the wireless access that stations (clients) have within a BSS. Each BSS is identified by a service set identifier (SSID). Multi-BSS APs have become recently prevalent and currently available multi-BSS AP devices are static. In other words, these devices do not change the BSS state based on the network connection status (e.g., in the event the wide area network (WAN) connection is lost). In this case, for example, wireless devices (e.g., wireless phones, laptops, and wireless audio players) which are connected to an AP whose WAN connection is lost or severely disrupted may lose communications and any active streaming media or other content or data to the wirelessly connected devices is terminated.
Advances in computer networking combined with powerful home computers and modern operating systems have made streaming media practical and affordable for ordinary consumers. For example, stand-alone Internet devices are offering users a “no-computer” option for listening to and viewing audio and video streams. As demand for wireless communications and streaming multimedia services (e.g., voice over internet protocol (VOIP), streaming audio, and streaming video) grows, there is a need for multi-BSS WiFi network equipment capable of providing better service availability and reliability.